Sunday night, the Golden Globes will air on NBC as the biggest stars in Hollywood are awarded for their recent accomplishments. The audience is expected to be massive as the awards show will air immediately after a playoff battle between the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles. However, there are concerns about what will happen if the game happens to run into overtime and overlaps the Globes’ start time of 8 p.m. ET.
As it turns out, NBC has a backup plan in case this battle between two of the top NFL teams runs long. Per Variety, the telecast will not begin until the game ends, and it will run in its entirety. There won’t be a concern about viewers missing any of the speeches or early categories.
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With a start time of 4:40 p.m. ET, the NFL playoff game should have enough time to run in its entirety, but there could be any number of delays. If there are multiple injuries, reviews, or penalties, the game clock will be stopped for a varying number of times. This could extend the length and push the final whistle closer and closer to the start of the Globes.
The game length was a concern in 2019 as the annual award show aired immediately after the battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears. This Wild Card game ran long and ended after a missed field goal by the Bears at 7:54 p.m. ET. This left the NBC analysts with a mere six minutes to discuss the playoff game before the broadcast switched to the Globes.
The Eagles are currently expected to win by one point, per CBS Sports, which is likely owed to the home-field advantage at Lincoln Financial Field. This means that the game could go down to the proverbial wire.
If the game is truly as close as expected, it will follow the trend set by the two AFC playoff games on Saturday. The Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans went to overtime on Saturday afternoon, ultimately ending on a late field goal. The Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots, on the other hand, battled until the final seconds. This game was in question until Tom Brady threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown with nine seconds remaining.
NBC would prefer not to see a repeat of this strict timeline from 2019 but will be prepared in case the situation repeats itself in 2020. Fortunately for fans of the Golden Globes, they will not miss a moment even if the playoff game runs over its allotted time.
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